A new bill will allow a person to be tried and convicted of a criminal offence without seeing all the information relied on by the Crown and without the right to be present, the NZ Law Society says.

Bell Gully chairman, Roger Partridge, is auctioning off an hour of his time on Trademe today in an effort to raise funds for charity.

Partridge, along with 11 other New Zealand business leaders, has put his time and business nous up for sale in support of ChildFund’s ‘Livelihoods Appeal’ in Sri Lanka, which will provide micro-loans and business mentoring to families living in extreme poverty.

ChildFund is one of Bell Gully’s pro-bono clients and Partridge says he and his wife have supported the charity on a personal level for some time.

Despite the fact that the auction will eventuate in Partridge effectively going on a ‘blind date’ with the winner, he says he’s looking forward to the business lunch.
“I’m not too nervous…I’ve been an informal mentor before and I expect it will someone who’s pursuing a legal career,” he tells NZ Lawyer.

Partridge says the cause appeals to him due to the fact that microloan schemes offer the possibility of self-reliance, as opposed to a simple hand-out.

“I’m a great believer in personal autonomy. The ‘hand up rather than a hand out’ approach is nicely aligned with this. It’s also nicely aligned with success in a business organisation, where leadership is largely about enabling others to succeed.”

Partridge says he’s also found mentors and senior colleagues invaluable throughout his career and that he’s happy to pass on his knowledge to whomever wins this week’s auction.

Fellow business leaders auctioning their time include:

Name

Organisation

Barbara Chapman

ASB

Christopher Luxton

Air New Zealand

Craig Heatley

SKY TV founder

Paul Herrod

KPMG

Jacqueline Ireland

CEO, Colmar Brunton

Paul Fitzgerald

General Manager, Coca-Cola Oceania

Alastair de Raadt

General Manager, Cadbury

Don Lyon

General Manager, Beca Engineering

Mark Powell

The Warehouse, Group CEO

Geoff Ross

‘42 Below’ founder

Trelise Cooper

Trelise Cooper, NZ Fashion Designer

The starting bid is $100 and the auction closes on Thursday, 5 June. To place a bid, click here.